Improved fire-ladder



s ilaitrli glatte Letters Patent No. 96,710, dated November 9, 1869.

IMPROVED FIRE-LADDER.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and makingpart of the same.

To all whom it 'may concern.'

Be it known that I, ALBERT Lorz, of Franklin, in the county of iVilliamson, and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Saving-Apparatus5 and I do'hereby declare thatY the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The nature of my invention consists in the construction and arrangement of an apparatus for saving life and property,7 in case of re, where thedoor or entrance to the house cannot be used.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appert-ains, to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation, referring to the annexed drawings, in which- Figure 1' is aperspective view of the side of a house;

with the life-saving apparatus placed in position, and

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the carriage upon which the apparatus is transported to the Aplace needed. A A. represent two wheels, mounted, one upon each end ofthe axle B, to the front side of which the tongue C is suitably secured.

From near each end of the acle B rises a standard,

D, and in the upper ends of said standards is pivoted the reel E, which is turned in either direction by means of thecrank F.

From the rear side of the axle B, at right angles with the standards D D, projects a frame, G, the side beams of whichare cut out or recessed so as to admit or aiord a convenient rest for the legs of the stand H.

v This stand, when thus placed upon the frame G, is held by a hook, a, on each side, as seen in iig. 2.

At the rear end of the frame -Gr are small legs b b, on which that end of the frame rests when the team is unhitched.

On one of the side beams of said frame is fastened the axe I, and on the carriage thus constructed is carried the entire apparatus.

When a fire breaks out, and the fireman cannot get into the house through the door, it may be rst necessary to break through the window-shutters. For

y this reason there is hung uponvthe extension-ladder J, a long handle, with an axe, I, at the end, by means of which he can break o sufficient to fasten the ropeladder hook d. This hook is secured to the upper end of a long pole, K, which is provided with a pulleyat or near each end. i

Around these pulleys ispassed an endless rope, to which the rope ladder L is Securedr The rope ladder is made in any of the known and usual ways, and is hoisted up, by means of the endless rope, -to the upper end of the pole K, where its upper round or bail slips into a notch made for that purpose, thus allowing the fireman to ascend the ladder, so that he can make a larger hole through the shutter and window, for the purpose of hanging the life-saving bag' M. In ascending the ladder, he will of course have a rope with him, said rope being hooked to the bag, so that he can draw this up after him.

The bag M, which is open at both ends, and of any dimensionsl desired, is made in sections, hooked together, so that it can be used for any height desired.

At its upper end it is provided with a metal frame, to hold it open, and with hooks e c, to be hung upon the window-sill. Y

At the same time as the b'ag M. has thus been snspended, one or moreother firemen place the stand Il at a suitable distance from the burning building, and hang the upper edgevof the lower end of the bag on hooks'to the same, leaving the lower opening of the bag under the stand, as seen in iig. 1.

Anybody that may be in the house can now, without danger, slide down through the bag M, and be received by the persons standing at its lowes end, andv furniture or merchandise of' any kind can be let down the same way without breakage.

If the fireman who first ascended the rope ladder needs any assistance, he lets down the rope with which he hoisted the bag, through the bag, said rope being, for that purpose, provided with a lead ball.

A sledge,.N, is then fastened to it, and another man can readily be drawn up through the bag. yThe Sledge N is made of a piece of wood of suitable size, having a metal frame at the foot, on which is stretched canvas. At the upper end are hooks, on which the rope mentioned is attached. This sledge may be used for letting down-children, or, in fact, all persons, as well as any articles of furnitdre that would easily be broken, such as china or glass-ware, &c. s

The prevent the rope used in moving the slcdge N up and down from wearing out against the windowsill, I have, in a recess on the sledge, a small roller,

or pulley, c, attached to a sharp-pointed plate ror bar,

which can readily be fastened anywhere on the window-sill, and the rope passed around said roller.

When everybody or everything has been removed, the fireman lets down the bag, descends the ladder, and unhooks the ladder-pole. But if he should have no time, on account of the lire, to do this, he slips the middle of the rope through rings formed authe outer ends of the bag-hooks e e and .the ladder-pole hook d, letting the ends of the rope hang down outside of the building, throws himself through the bag, and the men below, by giving a sudden pull on both ends of the rope, will release the hooks, and both the bag and ladder will fall tothe ground, thus saving them from burning.

When the window is too high, or when the ladderhook cannot be used, a common extension-ladder, J', having similar hooks at its upper end, is substituted.

The bag M is, `when not in use, wound up on the reel E; and where, for instance in narrow alleys, the stand H cannot be used, then the carriage is moved as close to the burning house as possible, the lower end of the bag remaining on the reel, and one of the sections opened, in order to receive in this Way the persons or articles. Or the end of the bag may be earried through a window in a house opposite.

Hotels,l boarding-houses, hospitals, an'd private houses ought to have certain lengths of bag, a hoisting-rope, and also a saving-rope, having-knots its entire length, from ten to twelve inches apart. This rope should be as long as the house is high, to go inside of the bag, and is only to be used when there is nobody on the street to stretch the bag as far as is necessary.A

Having thus fully described my invention,

What I claim as new, and desire to secure byfLetters Patent, s-

1. The carriage A B C, provided with reel E and frame G, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth, `in combination with bag M.

2. The combination and arrangement of the pole K with pulleys and endlesswrope, hook d, and ladder L, all substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

3. The bag M, made in sections, and providedlgyith hooks e e, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

4. In combination with the sectional bag,` M, the

stand H, substantially as and for the purposes herein' set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, -I afiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

Witnesses: ALBERT LOTZ.

O'rno THOMAS, G. S. Moss. 

